CHENNAI: Governor RN Ravi on Friday stoked a fresh bout of debate by celebrating the birth anniversary of Tamil saint Thiruvalluvar on his birth nakshatra and offering tributes to the portrait of Thiruvalluvar in saffron clothes and with holy ash and kumkum on his forehead. The Raj Bhavan described the day as Vaikasi Anusham Valluvar Thirunaal.
So far, Thiruvalluvar Day is celebrated by the TN government in mid-January.
A Raj Bhavan release justified the Vaikasi Anusham Thirunaal celebration by saying, “Thiruvalluvar Thirunaal (Vaikashi Anusham) was celebrated traditionally by carrying forward the legacy of great Tamil scholars Maraimalai Adigal, TP Meenakshisundaram and Vi. Kalyanasundaram.”
The governor, in his speech too, defended the traditional celebration of the Thiruvallur Thirunaal. “As per our thousands of years old tradition, the auspicious Vaikasi Anusham is Thiruvalluvar Day,” he added.
Many scholars and admirers of Thiruvalluvar participated in the event organised at Raj Bhavan.
Meanwhile, former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar took exception to giving saffron robes to Thiruvalluvar. He said Thiruvallur is above religious, racial and caste identities. Portraying him in saffron dress is unacceptable and this is tantamount to insulting Thiruvalluvar and the Tamil race.